All About Canaan and Max

First Hair Cut!

2009-11-09T09:06:00.000-08:00

I know you can't believe it, but we did it! We finally cut Canaan's hair! It is really more of a trim than a cut! However, he's had a lot of long strings of flyaway hairs that are getting worse in the dryness of winter. So, we decided to put on the longest guard on the trimmers and Daddy buzzed away! In the end, it looked close to the same as when we started, but we can tell a difference.
Canaan was a little nervous at first, but all we had to do was promise him a piece of chocolate and he was ready for anything! He sat really still and did great. The video is a little long- around 3 minutes, but we didn't take the time to try to do a nice trimmed and cut version for you all. Instead, we decided to just post it for those of you (special grandparents and aunts and uncles) who we knew would be interested!
Enjoy!

9 Months (and 2 days)

2009-11-03T13:49:00.000-08:00

Warning: CUTE PICTURES AT BOTTOM!

In case any of you were wondering, Max is 9 months old and almost crawling! He really can scoot/army crawl across the floor to get just about whatever he wants. He had been diving forward from a sitting position and then rrreeeaaaccchhhiiinnngg really far to try to get things for a while. Now he has started the scoot. I think he'll be full on crawling soon! Watch out, Mommy! I am loving to put things in my mouth now!

Other Max stats
2 Teeth (bottom middle)
One Cute Smile
Pinchable Cheeks
Rolly legs

Sounds:
-Max can wave bye-bye, and we've heard him say "ba-ba" a couple times when waving bye!! So, I think bye-bye is his first word!! (Canaan said uh-oh first, at 7.5 months.)

-I have also heard him say "na-na"when I put him to bed a few times. I always tell him, "Night, night." When I put him down, I lay him in my arms and sing Jesus Loves Me to him. When he is really tired, he leans over and tries to roll from my arms and into his crib. He, like Canaan, likes his bed when he is tired! We've also given him a little blanket, like Canaan has. The blanket for Canaan was a mistake, but really worked out well. With all the traveling we've done since Canaan has been born (both in the States and internationally), Canaan is often out of his "normal" bed and routine. But, his blanket travels with him and is a sign that it is bed time (good for on planes and switching time zones). We've bought several to have them on hand when we loose one or need to wash one. It has worked great for us and I recommend blankets for kids, especially if you will travel a bit! Of course, Canaan just turned 3 years old and still sleeps with his sheep; we haven't figured out how to break him of that, but are thinking he is getting old en

ough to let it go. If you have any suggestions, let us know!

-Max has been saying Da-Da a lot too, but not always purposefully. Today, Dougle walked into the house and Canaan yelled "Daddy!" Max stopped eating (I was nursing), leaned over to look and said "Da-Da!" Pretty purposeful!

-Max has been saying MaMa-MaMa for over a month. However, he doesn't seem to say it purposely, for me, yet.

-Max also likes to gab. He baby-talks a lot.

Imitation
Max has been watching Canaan since the day he was born. Now Max is mimicking him! Instead of only chewing on cars (he chews on EVERYTHING), he has started to "drive" them in front of him, back and forth on the ground! I am amazed! He will be copying Canaan the rest of his life, I think! (Though I am hoping he will learn from Canaan's mistakes and not make them!!) Max even prefers to play with Canaan's toys, r

ather than his own.

Night Time and Sleeping
Max sleeps from about 9pm-6am (9 hours- for the non-math whizes!). He then wakes up to eat, and goes right back to sleep until 9 or 10am. Yes, I am blessed! God knew I couldn't survive without good sleepers! Canaan was the same. He slept 11-12 hours a night from the age of 3 months on. The only time we have problems with getting off schedule and mid-night feedings is when we are traveling.
Max takes about 2 naps a day that are about 1-1.5 hours. He sometimes takes a 45 minute nap right before bed time.

Food and Eating

Max LOVES to eat! I am still nursing Max several times a day. However, around 5.5 months, he started eating oatmeal and other pureed foods. Now, he can even pick up little bits of food I put on a tray and put them into his mouth, though this does take quite a bit of concentration and effort, as well as make a mess! He eats chicken and meat pieces that I cook, bananas, peas, corn, broccoli, carrots, bread, potatoes, etc. Pretty much

, he eats a little bit of whatever I am eating. When he sees us sit at the table, he knows what is going on and wants a part of it! We can't get away with not feeding him! So, whatever we eat, he eats some too!

Pooping

So, I don't know if many of you remember, but Max has never been a daily pooper. In fact, for the first 8 months of his life, he only pooped once every 5-7 days on average. Well, I say only 8 months because for the past few weeks, he has been getting off schedule. We ask ourselves, "Who is this baby and what is wrong with him?" I guess we should be wondering what is RIGHT!? He started pooping every 3 days and then every day. The every day thing has come with some restless sleeping and extra fussing and drooling, which I am attributing to new teeth coming in (thought I haven't seen them yet). But, now that I think about it, I think it has been 2 days since the last dirty diaper. Did I mention that they smell?! They smell like buttered movie pop-corn! Weird, isn't it?!

Random Stuff

--Many people here tell me Max looks like a baby doll!

--Max is still pretty laid back, but has definitely started fussing when he doesn't get his way (I tell him not to touch things and follow through), or when Canaan takes something from him that he wants. So, not totally perfect, but pretty clo

se!! :)

--Max can walk in his walker a bit now- mainly backward and to the side. He really doesn't ever go forward. Otherwise, he is not interested in standing at all (total opposite of Canaan).

--Sometimes we will all be in the living room and then one at a time will leave. Then we will all be in the kitchen and one of us will look around and say, "Where is Max?" We just forgot about him and left him in the living room by himself. So, Canaan has heard us say this a few times, and if he thinks I am leaving Max out of something I shouldn't, he will say, "Oh, you forgot about Max!" or "Don't forget Max, Mommy!"

--Max loves to look at himself in mirrors. Do all babies?

Finger Painting!

2009-11-03T08:53:00.000-08:00

Here is us fingerpainting on the kitchen floor. It was lots of fun. The first picture Canaan painted, he just wanted to put all the colors on his paper. After that, we painted his hand for a hand-print. Then we did a hand print with each color. Then we painted Max's hand. He wasn't as cooperative, preferring to clench his hands, instead of lay them out flat for a nice print! We got one good one, though.
The finger paints are great, washing off with warm water and a bit of soap. We loved it, and even used the finger paints later to paint pumpkins at Canaan's birthday!

Fall Fun Outside

2009-11-02T08:46:00.000-08:00

Fall is here. Actually, now, it is headed into winter pretty fast. Our high today is in the 30's. Nippy. Thankfully, our heaters were turned on about a week ago, so we are keeping warm inside. Sometimes warm enough to open the window (remember: our heaters just come on and off and have no dial to adjust the heat).
Well, when these pictures were taken, it was very fall-ish! I think that fall is the most beautiful time of the year, here in Kharkov, anyway. Some places aren't as pretty. But here the leaves change through many colors and the parks are gorgeous. I love it!
In these pictures, I'd drawn a chalk road map for Canaan. We brought his big jeep and trucks out to go on the roads. Max watched from his walker, which he is getting better at navigating. The chalk drawings took almost a whole piece of jumbo chalk, but lasted several days, even with cars driving on it, going in and out of the courtyard. This was definitely one of my better ideas of late: Canaan LOVED it!
The pictures of the boys weren't as successful. Neither was very cooperative. But they are cute enough to post!

Making Pumpkin

2009-11-01T08:36:00.000-08:00

Here in Ukraine, as in many places outside the States, you can't buy canned pumpkin. Well, since food and holidays go hand in hand for me, I set about finding out how to make my own pumpkin. Last year, our American friends, the Woffords, gave us some, since we had just moved here not long before. This year, I made my own! And guess what? It is super easy.
There are several recipes you can follow. I got mine off this website:How to Cook your Pumpkin.

1) Clean the outside of the pumpkin.
2) Cut pumpkin into pieces (I did 4).
3) Carve and scrape out the seeds and strings.
4) Put in covered dish and bake in the oven for about an hour.

After one hour, the peel came right off and it was pretty mushed/pureed already. I plopped it into a plastic container and stored it in my fridge for making. It yielded about 4 cups, enough for 2 recipes of pumpkin chocolate chip cake! Delicious!

If you are wondering about pumpkin chocolate chip muffins/cake, here is the recipe!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cup-Cakes

1 yellow cake mix

3 eggs

1/2 c. water

1/3 c. oil

1 can pumpkin (15 oz)

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

1 c. chocolate chips.

Mix dry ingredients and then add wet ingredients. Cook 350 degrees in greased (or paper cups) muffin pans.

Halloween

2009-10-31T14:11:00.000-07:00

Well, here is our Halloween post. There are two pictures. One of them is the only one we got of Canaan as a Robot, since he really didn't want to dress up in the first place. The other is of Max, looking super cute as a reindeer. It was tough getting him to smile because he is teething and not sleeping well. (No worries, I gave him some oral-gel I brought from the States and some infant Tylenol to help get him through the night!)

I decided to make a robot costume for Canaan for Halloween. He was never impressed with the idea of dressing up, but I thought I could pump him up to it and it would be okay. Nope. Not even with the help of my sis could we get him excited about it. He really got into the goggles I bought him, but that was the day before. When it came time to dress up, he wanted nothing to do with anything. Oh, except his "long socks." I bought gray tights for him to wear to match his outfit. I was smart and bought them with airplanes on them, hoping that would sweeten the deal. It did. At first, he didn't want them on. But, once on, we couldn't get him to take them off. Even though he didn't wear his costume during the party, he wore the tights all night long and cried whenever I tried to put pants on over top of them (to make the pictures better). Well, he wore them all night at his Birthday party, to sleep in that night, all day the next day (only with much crying did we get the sweats over top of them to go out in the evening- it is cold!), and he continues to wear them as he sleeps now. I did tell him he had to take them off in the morning. We will see how that goes over!

As a side note: he looks very Russian in his little tights. A lot of Russian/Ukrainian boys and girls wear tights under their snow suits in the winter (up through ages 5-6). When they arrive inside, they take off their snow pants and run around in their tights- no other pants. So, I guess he is just fitting in with where we live!

Oh, Canaan did help us make the costume! He watched Daddy spray paint it, put stickers on it, though they kept falling off, laid coins all over it to tape on (he LOVES coins), and helped glue on the gage and calculator (he also loves numbers). So, that was fun!

Hope you enjoy their costumes. Canaan kept his on long enough to knock on David and Auntie's door and yell "Trick or Treat." Max enjoyed his, thanks to Gran-Nan, who bought it to help keep him warm in Ohio when we were there!

Happy 3 Years to Canaan!

2009-10-30T23:58:00.000-07:00

Canaan turned 3 years old!! Wow! We have enjoyed every minute being his parents. We thank God for giving Canaan to us and hope we have many more years with him!!

Here is just a quick view of our party. It was a Halloween themed party since they don't really

celebrate Halloween here. The adults carved pumpkins, the kids finger-painted pumpkins and played with gifts, we all enjoyed Halloween snacks, and even played the Wii (thanks to Rob and Denyce for bringing it!). It was a blast.

Happy Birthday my big boy!!
(The picture of Canaan with the wide eyes is when we turned off the lights to look at the lit pumpkins!)

Catching Up!

2009-10-27T04:54:00.000-07:00

So, life has been hectic the past few months. I would love to write in detail about all our adventures and catch you up on everything in detail. But, alas, I have not the time. And, I doubt most of you would actually want to read that much! :)

So, here is my attempt to briefly summarize what has been going on. I'll do some subsequent blog posts highlighting specific things later on, but here is the basics of what has been going on with us. And, of course, some pictures to go with it!

Before we knew it, summer was turning into fall. At the end of July, Dougle went to Kiev for 3 weeks to do an intensive Russian study course. The boys and I visited Daddy for one long weekend, but stayed in Kharkov to give him the best study time we would the rest of the time.

Not two weeks after he returned, we were heading off again...to Donetsk. It may seem we go there often. Well, we do. Our visas to stay in Ukraine are registered through the school of preaching there. So, we have to go there to pick up paper work and register every six months. This time in Donetsk, David and Dougle were each teaching a 2 week class to the students. Dougle taught the first year students a course on Hermeneutics. While we were there, Olivia and I cooked a Tex-Mex meal for everyone, staff and students. It was a lot of fun and kept us busy planning and preparing for it while the boys were teaching.

After one week in Donetsk, Liv, the little boys and I came back to Kharkov. Rob's parents were in town a few days and we wanted to see them before they left for their vacation together in Italy. At the end of the second week of teaching, David and Dougle returned home.

Soon after, we found out that my Grandma Janie was diagnosed with cancer and was given 2-4 months to live. Olivia and I decided to take Canaan and Max to Ohio and see her one last time. Unfortunately, Grandma Janie died before we arrived in Ohio. She passed quickly, at home. Though we didn't get to see her one last time, we hold very dear memories of her life that we will continue to cherish. In addition to loosing our grandmother, while in Ohio, my sister, Olivia, lost her baby. She was 11 weeks pregnant when she had her miscarriage. It was very difficult for her during this time, especially since she was so far away from David. Needless to say, our time in Ohio was difficult in many ways, though blessed in others, being surrounded by family during those times.

While the boys and I were in Ohio, we applied for new Ukrainian visas (not credit cards!). We have to leave the country once a year to do this. Dougle and David went to Budapest, Hungary, to get their new visas (which is one of the closer places we can go to do this).

All of us arrived into Kiev on the same day, Wednesday. We stayed overnight and took the morning train home to Kharkov. It took a week to get back on our feet after arriving home, just from jet lag and all the travel. Not long after we arrived back, Mary, David's mom, came into town to visit. She was here for two weeks, checking out our city and visiting her kids!

Since being home, we've been up to a lot of things. I've felt really busy, though at the end of some days I fall into bed and wonder what exactly it was that I accomplished. I think being a mom and wife is a full time job! However, in everything we've tried to have fun and glorify God. I think that is what being a Christian is all about, right. It isn't about who has read or memorized more Scripture or who prays the longest each day, though those are great things that I don't mean to minimize. But at the end of the day, it isn't about putting God first in our lives by all the things we do, but about letting Him be the center of our lives. For me, this is a new way of thinking about things. When I think of putting God first, family second, Russian language third, etc., I feel like God is just at the top of a list that needs crossing off. Instead, in being a Christian, I want God to be at the center of who I am, directing how I behave in all aspects, toward my husband, my children, out shopping, while I study Russian, etc. Anyway, those are just some brief thoughts recently.

I hope that all of you have been doing well and enjoying the past few months. Thanks for keeping up with us, even when we have long absences of communication. And, thanks to everyone who takes time to leave comments and let us know you are reading and care about us! We love you all!

Canaan Writes His Name

2009-10-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am hoping to catch up with lots of pictures soon, but until then, you can look at this. Isn't my boy just so smart?!

Canaan wrote his name all by himself without any direction. All we did was ask him what letter came next. You might think the paper is upside down in the picture. No, it is just how he wrote it. The second picture is the same page turned upside-down. I think he is either very confused or very talented. Not only can he write his name at such a young age (I think 2 years old- almost 3 is young!), but he can do it upside-down! :) Notice half of it is upside-down and half is right side up. He never turned the paper over.

One Year in Ukraine!

2009-10-14T05:48:00.001-07:00

Happy Anniversary- to us and our supporters!!
Hooray! One year ago, we arrived in Ukraine! We arrived a day later than planned, because we had problems (which ended up being a BIG mess) getting our stuff from Russia into Ukraine. However, we arrived! My Dad, Kirt, had come to Russia to help us pack and move, since I was 5 1/2 months pregnant at the time. It was one year ago that we started our adventure in this new city and country, with the dream of spreading God's kingdom more in this part of the world. And, one year later, we are loving it here! We love our life and our work here!

The Turning Point
Over the next few weeks, our team will begin what we were sent here to do. After listening to much advice from former missionaries and after much prayer, our team decided to dedicate it's first year to learning the Russian language before we began our ministry. While learning the language, we have made many friends, learned much about the culture, and have tried to be light in all circumstances. Now, we are at the turning point. We will continue in our language and cultural studies, since the language is so challenging that it requires MUCH study! (Remember, Russian is the language of Heaven......because it takes FOREVER to learn!) However, we will begin focusing a large part of our time now on ministry.

The Future
We have committed to a total of 6 years in Ukraine, Lord willing. Of course, it doesn't necessarily mean we will be leaving Ukraine after that, but 6 years was our minimum committment. With one down, that leaves five more years. As a mom, I think of that in terms of how old my kiddos will be. In five years, Canaan will be about to turn 8 years old and Max will be 5 1/2! I can't even imagine. I hope that doesn't make you cry, Grandparents, but I hope it just inspires you to visit us more!!

I can't imagine what the Lord will have done in 5 years from now. We pray that He will have used us to advance His kingdom and help bring many more to a knowledge of Him, His love for them, and salvation through Jesus. We hope to be a part of a small, house church that meets in one part of the city here, with many others meeting around the city and around this region as well. We hope to be involved in many lives of Ukrainians, helping those we can, encouraging those we can, and always spreading the Good News with our every action and word.

Prayers
Please pray for us. We know we cannot be a part of this wonderful work without YOU! If it weren't for our team, those working with us here, as well as those who support us financially and emotionally from the States, we could not be here. Your support and prayers have got us this far. Thank you. We only ask for your continual prayers, since we know that the more we spread the news of God's love and salvation through Jesus, the more Satan will be displeased and try to oppose us. We only want to be more courageous and bold every day!

The Cutest Two

2009-09-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, Dougle already put this on his blog, but I had to post it on mine too because it was just TOO CUTE! Do I have the cutest boys or what?
Sometimes Dougle and I wonder where Canaan came from! He is such the crack-up and ham that neither of us are! Now, the 100% Sweet One on the left, he is 100% Mommy! :) Daddy thinks different....!
Really, WE BOTH ADORE EACH OF OUR BOYS! They are so special! We thank God for them every night, in addition to praying for wisdom in how to raise them before Him. That is the most important thing!
And we enjoy showing them off to you all!!

Long Time, No Blog

2009-09-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my sweet boys. I can't get them in any order now, so you will have to just bear with the random-ness of them.
Canaan was able to play his first game of baseball. He wasn't as into it as Malachi, who is 14 months older, but he enjoyed swinging the bat around and running around to the different 'bases,' which were trees. It was so cute watching the little boys play. Rebecca Brinley brought a nerf bat and ball to play with the kids while they were here. (She and her husband Tim came to lead our team retreat; they were former missionaries to Russia and now live in Greece.) When Canaan got bored playing, he just went and climbed a nearby tree and watched the game! Anyway, she left the nerf set with us, which was super nice. Thank you, Rebecca!
Malachi, on the retreat, turned 4. We had a birthday party for him too. Some of the pictures are from that. He was very gracious, letting Canaan touch and play with his new toys from the start!
There are also a few pictures of when we were in Kiev, while visiting Dougle during his 3 week Russian classes there. Oh, and a few from Maya's birthday party.
Hope you enjoy! I'll try to do better, one of these days!

Party in the Park

2009-08-29T12:53:00.001-07:00

Well, this is a short post! I am so behind. But, I've been taking notes of cute things Canaan says, and wanting to write about that and how much Max has grown recently. Unfortunately, I am really tired and need to go to bed. But, here is a picture. We went to a birthday party in the park for a friend of ours who turned two. It was a great day and we had lots of fun. Look how big Max is, sitting on his own now!

Hope you enjoy the snapshot!

Daddy Is Home

2009-08-14T03:35:00.000-07:00

NOTE: Most of the pictures are from our train ride, since I always managed to forget the camera when we were out and about in Kiev. Two pictures are at the train station in Kiev; the rest are from on the train or views out the train window.

Daddy arrived home from Kiev last night on the express train. For those of you interested, there are two express trains a day that run between Kiev and Kharkov. One leaves around 6:30am and arrives 6 hours later; the other leaves around 5:30pm and arrives 6 hours later. The express train is nice because it only stops twice. Once in a small town by which I don't remember the name, and only for about 5 or 10 minutes. The other stop is two hours outside of Kharkov, at a town called Poltava. The trains stops for 20-25 minutes there, which is enough time to get off the train and walk around the platform if so desired. And, since I am on the topic of trains, several of the pictures are from on the train (I forgot to bring our camera when we had the opportunity to go sight seeing). Rob so graciously bought me the train tickets for the boys and I to visit Kiev. Unwittingly, he bought nicer tickets that we all imagined. We traveled first class, which meant we were in a little cabin area with just 3 seats, a fold out table in front of us, and a glass door that could be closed for extra privacy. This is different to the airplane like seating that is on normal second class trains. We really enjoyed it, and on the way home, we had the 3 seated cabin to ourselves, which was nice!

Anyway, back to my story, Daddy arrived home last night around 11:45pm. Yeah! When Canaan woke up this morning, he went into his bedroom and Canaan exclaimed, "You are home, Daddy!" (Master of the Obvious is sometimes what he call him!)

Daddy was gone for 11 days before we left to go see him. The boys and I took the morning express to Kiev on Thursday, arriving after his class that day. We then spent a long weekend with him (he still had class, and Daddy and Mommy did homework together when the boys slept), and we came home on the Tuesday morning express. It was wonderful getting to see Dougle during his 3 week course! The boys were sick and it was rainy most of the time, but we still had a great time being together as a family.

We were able to stay with Dougle where he was staying in the Obolong Church of Christ's apartment they have. We worshiped with this small congregation on Sunday morning. Monday after Dougle's class, we went to Mat Rodina. It is a huge statue (supposedly bigger than the Statue of Liberty). Around it are various sculptures and tributes to those who fought in WW2, as well as a small display of various war vehicles and machinery. It was very interesting to look at all that, and for about 60 cents we were able to go into an airplane they had and sit in the pilot's seats. Canaan and I did that, since Max was somehow too young to be able to go onto the plane. I have no idea why that is. There was even a MIG you could sit in, but we skipped that as well, since even Canaan was too young to sit in that seat. Again...??? But, overall we had a lovely time just walking around the area as a family.

We came home on Tuesday, and Dougle followed to arrive late Thursday night.

We are THANKFUL for Daddy being able to have the opportunity to do some hard core studying, as well as THANKFUL for the fact that he is back with us!

Vlada

2009-08-07T05:08:00.000-07:00

Vlada is my neighbor I go walking with two or three times a week. Her little boy, Platon, is 3 months old. We walk to the park; Platon usually sleeps, Max watches everything, and Canaan plays a bit on the playground. Somedays Canaan walks and pushes his own stroller, other days he rides with Max.
We've struck up a good friendship. It is nice to have someone in the building I can trust like her. She speaks slowly and can re-say things if I don't at first understand. We have decided we need a a dictionary to take with us! So, not only is it a good time we have, but it is great Russian practice for me. Dougle has helped/or been helped by her husband, Misha, too. We hope to get to know this family better over time.

Sooo Hard

2009-08-05T04:57:00.000-07:00

So, I tried to take a snapshot of the two boys. It is SOOO HARD to get them to be still (so as not to be blurry) and both smile at the same time.
So, these are just a few snapshots. They were in their PJ's getting ready to go to bed. Yes, Canaan still sleeps with his blanket (we have 3 that are the same that I rotate out)! Thought I'd share, even though they aren't perfect!

First Food and Applesauce making Adventures

2009-08-04T04:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is a late post. Max ate his first food on Tuesday, July 14th! We made rice cereal for him. I looked at the baby cereal in the store, but all of it had sugar added and was very expensive. So, I talked to Denyce, our team queen of health and do-it-yourself in terms of cooking. And I looked online. It is super easy to make cereal yourself! I started with rice cereal (just make rice and blend in the blender). After a few days, I moved onto oatmeal. Max definitely prefers oatmeal over anything! Usually I make enough for a couple days, keep it in the fridge and just add a bit of water and heat it up when I feed it to him. That makes my life just a tad easier, especially lately while Dougle is gone.
We have also tried carrots, which he didn't like at all, mashed potatoes, which he ate, but didn't just "like" them like he does his oatmeal, and applesauce. I was over at Rob and Denyce's last night. While she fixed us dinner, I peeled and cut apples. We had two different types: small redish, gold apples that were a bit mushy and sweet, and small light green apples that were more tart and crisp. I always prefer tart and crisp. We cooked the redish ones and blended raw the green ones. The green apples made a delicious, yet tangy applesauce that was great, and the redish ones made a very light flavored, but sweet, mixture. I fed Max the tangy stuff, because it was ready first. He ate about 10 or 15 bites and then was making awful faces that seemed to say "Ok, this is getting too tart for my liking!" Maybe I'll try the sweeter stuff today. Canaan didn't like it either, but he doesn't really eat fruit at all (except bananas), and he was in a bit of a mood, so maybe we'll try the sweeter stuff today. So, though it took forever to peel and cut the apples (maybe I'll get faster with practice), it was great having applesauce, since they don't sell it in the stores here. And the best part is that it was with fresh fruit I bought at the market, grown by families at there small homes in the country (dacha). And we didn't add sugar to either, and both were fabulous by themselves. I think we'll put cinnamon in when we eat it next, though, because we are all fans of cinnamon!

6 Months Old

2009-08-02T14:06:00.001-07:00

Max is 6 months old today! Canaan and I sang a round of "Happy Birthday" to him and everything! I just wanted to post a quick picture. Right now Dougle is in Kiev and I am here with the boys in Kharkov. So, I am extra busy holding down the fort by myself!
So, I think Max weighs about 16 pounds, but I will have to try to weigh him on my scale soon again because I don't remember correctly. He has no teeth yet, but I am sure they are coming soon! He is the super smile-iest boy ever. He just grins when we look at him. He loves his big brother so much. He watches him all the time. He can't ever concentrate on eating when there is anything interesting going on around him (half the time I have to hide in the bedroom to get him to eat properly)! We started oatmeal a couple weeks ago (otherwise, I am still nursing). He has tried rice cereal too, as well as potatoes and carrots, but the oatmeal is his favorite. (I'll post pics of that when I can.) He has started sitting on his own for 20 seconds at a time and can sometimes 'catch' himself when he is about to fall over. He reaches for everything these days, rolls around a lot on the floor, prefers sleeping on his side or tummy, and is constantly chewing on everything: including his toes! Everyone tells us he looks just like Canaan, though the older he gets the less the resemblance seems to me. He looks more like my (Lucy's) side of the family, while Canaan definitely favors Daddy! Well, that is my opinion. About a month ago we finally got him sleeping through the night. He sleeps 10-12 hours a night on average and takes about 3 short naps during the day. He is such a joy to have. We love having Maximus Craig as part of our family!
We did go out to play today on a pile of gravel outside in our courtyard. We were going to go to the park, but Canaan found this pile of gravel/rocks much more interesting and we played here for about 45 minutes! Boys and getting dirty and climbing, etc. Max was content to sit in the stroller and watch it all. At one point, all 3 of us ran down it! Fun! Fun!
So, those are the pics. All taken today.
Love you all!

A Half Trip to the Zoo

2009-07-18T04:19:00.000-07:00

So, I had no idea what to expect going to the zoo here. But we went with Liv and Dave and our friends, Galina and Vitali. It was fun. We even ate ice-cream (a very Ukrainian/Russian thing to do). But we didn't get to see the typical zoo animals. Apparently we missed the half of the zoo with the elephant, tiger, hippo, aquarium, etc.

But we saw several animals that I don't remember seeing in our zoos. Maybe they are there, we just skip them. But probably they aren't because they are native to the United States. But we saw lots of deer and elk, some raccoons, sheep, goats, ducks, swans, the Ukrainian national bird (a stork), boar, bison, Canadian geese, etc. Seeing Canadian geese was especially funny because they migrate to Lubbock every fall and we see them in the wild! We saw some of the "normal" zoo animals too: camels, various birds, bears, monkeys, and a few more. Canaan really liked the swan and ducks!We took our time walking around. We bought food (carrots and cabbage) to feed the animals. Some of them liked it, some didn't.

A few things that were different. There weren't nice habitats for a lot of the animals. Some had some nice space, but many didn't. Also, people fed the animals, and many were hungry enough to eat the cabbage and carrots we fed them. Some people threw candy in at the monkeys; they knew to unwrap and eat. By the number opaper wrappers on the ground, it looked common. There were also several bananas on the cage bottom too. They had rides in the park and a playground (which Canaan insisted on playing on), as well as a few vendors who set up shop on a bench or two in the park. In addition, construction was going on in the back of the park. There were large concrete slabs laying around, and trenches dug that we had to step over to get to see some of the animals (Canaan thoroughly enjoyed jumping over these holes-see pictures). Lastly, some of the animals looked like they were in sad condition. For example, the humps on one or two of the camels' was sagging. It didn't look normal. We hear that the price of the zoo has sky-rocketed (from the 50 cents it used to be to around $4 now). Maybe they are going to use the money to try to improve some of the living conditions of the animals.

Anyway, here are a few pictures. Canaan enjoyed making a goofy face with the monkey statues, I got a snap-shot of Galina writing down English words (studying while with us!), and some cute ones from Max too. The overgrown, grassy hill is where a raccoon lived. Hope you enjoy. Maybe next time we go to the zoo, we will see the other animals!

This is the way we go to town...

2009-07-10T04:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, we have a car. And yes, it is super nice to have a car. But, if things are close by, or we feel like it, we walk. Especially since it is summer.

We have a super wonderful stroller that I take out almost everyday. The boys and I love going to the park or other locations in the stroller (Canaan doesn't like to walk long distances- he prefers to ride).

A few times I have taken the boys out on the metro with me. I do this without the stroller, because I can't get it up and down the stairs of the metro myself. When we travel out without the stroller, I put Max in the sling. It is super nice to have. Even at the playground, I take Max out of the stroller and put him in the sling. Together we follow Canaan around and make sure he stays safe and out of trouble!

Our Courtyard

2009-07-09T05:41:00.000-07:00

So, they are doing some work in our courtyard. I think it has to do with the pipes that carry hot water to the radiators in the winter. Anyway, they knocked on our door one morning and told us that they needed us to park our car on the road for 2 days, and then they'd be done. Two weeks later, it looks like it might get finished before winter! Hopefully just this week or next week and they will be done.

We have had several big trucks in our courtyard that do various tasks. Canaan thinks the trucks are just too cool and enjoys watching them dig the holes or move the pipes in place. So, if ever we are bored, we just walk downstairs to the courtyard and watch them work for a bit.

Fun stuff.

At times, it makes it difficult getting in and out of the building, because there is a big piece of equipment blocking our now small path in and out. Or, at times I wish they were a bit less noisy so Max could sleep better. But, overall, not too bad. And, God has taken care of our car. It has been safe on the streets and no harm has come to it. That is a blessing!

PS. A BIG thank you to Olivia who has provided many of my pictures lately! She is a sweety for letting me borrow them! Thanks LIVIA!

More Canaan Sayings

2009-07-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

These are too cute, and I want to remember them. So I have been trying to write them down when I can! I just don’t always have a pencil and paper handy at every moment, or you’d be reading a novel of funny things!

Say What?

Daddy and Max in the kitchen. Daddy was talking to Max and blowing on his belly.

Enter Canaan (running): Daddy!! I want some spits too!!!

Girls Vs. Boys

We’ve been talking about the difference between boys and girls. Mainly in just recognizing who are girls and who are boys. But, when I use the restroom, Canaan sees me sitting and asks if I am pooping. I tell him no, that I am a girl, and I sit when I potty. A few days after this discussion, Canaan is sitting on the potty pooping, looked up at me and said, “I am go potty like a girl!”

Sweet Questions

I picked up my two boys at the same time and carried them into the bedroom. Canaan looked at me and said: Mommy, I have my 2 favorite boys?

Me (smiling): Yes!

Canaan: In the wold world?!

Me (grinning more): Yes!!

(Daddy always says this when he picks them both up. I guess he was just making sure I had the same feelings!)

The Art of Hide and Seek

Mommy (pretending to look for Canaan): Is Canaan behind the curtains?!

Canaan (hiding under the covers on his bed): No! I am here!! Under the covers!

Hmm..he is still working on the concept of hide and seek!

Brother Musings

Canaan (talking to Max and holding up a car): You want this one?

Canaan (handing the car to Max): Okay, sure. Here you go.

The Negotiator

Canaan: I take some cars with us?

Me: Ok.

Canaan: How about these 6?

Me: No, you can bring 2 cars.

Canaan: How about....3?!

___

Canaan: Aunty, come play with me.

David: Auntie is talking to Mommy, and then she has to make a phone call. Then she can play with you.

Canaan: How 'bout Auntie talk to Mommy, then play with me 5 minutes, then make a call? Yeah, I think that will work!

What Goes Around...

Well, I'll admit it: I wasn't the perfect child. I know many of you are shocked. But, regain your composure. Canaan is like me in several ways. First of all, I used to be called "Last Minute Lucy" because I never would go to the bathroom until the VERY last minute. Canaan is like this now. He will be jumping around and at the last minute will race to the potty and hurriedly pull down his shorts, just in time to go. However, if he can't get to the potty immediately, or can't get those pants down quick enough, accidents occur. When I told my mom this, she just laughed! Can you believe that? Another similarity is listed below.

Already Convinced He Knows Better

At the age of two, Canaan is already convinced that the 3 guys who were thrown in the firey furnace were Shadrack, Me-Shadrack, and Obendigo! We have argued over it on a few occasions. I only laugh so much because as a child, I constantly argued with my mom over how things were pronounced. And I was always wrong! I guess what goes around, truly does come around!

Winds of Change

2009-07-05T07:07:00.000-07:00

This is one of two blog posts that I have done today. So, be sure and check out the one below about Daddy and the boys too!

It is time! It is past time. It is time to have a baby who sleeps though the night! Enter week one of sleep training. If you are interested, I have additional commentaries below about how we did it with Canaan, why we even opt to do sleep training, etc. If you are interested in reading my opinionated mini-novel, it is at the end!

Day One

I fed Max when he woke up this morning. We played with brother a while, and when Max got tired I took him to our room (where his crib is), sang Jesus Loves Me to him and laid him in bed. Do you know- he looked up at me, then rolled over and fell right to sleep without making a peep?! I was a bit frustrated because I had prepared myself for much crying and it didn’t happen! I mean, Canaan cried for 90 minutes the first day he put himself to sleep and he was only 2 months old! However, not only did Max put himself to sleep, but my baby who has only slept for basically 45 minutes when we lay him down on his own, slept an hour and a half. And he did that 3 other times today! Only tonight when we laid him down did he cry, and that for just 7 minutes. Dougle said he had prayed it would be easy, and it was! Yeah! My husband musts be a righteous man. Hopefully tomorrow will be just as good!

Day Two

So, Max didn’t sleep all night; instead, he woke up every 4 hours. Hmmm. Canaan did the first night, but he also cried a lot that first day too. And then today, life was a little more rough. He didn’t eat at the right times and didn’t sleep long in bed. In fact, he kept Canaan up because he fussed a lot during his nap and so neither boy was well rested. Maybe tomorrow will be better!

Day Three

So, here we are at day 3 and I am not exactly sure how this is going to turn out. But, onward we press. Last night was promising. Max skipped his 2am feeding and slept until 5am. I can deal with that for now. Today he has cried himself to sleep once, but it only took him about 5 minutes. And I am thinking that I am going to have to let him cry it out through a night feeding too. It’s not like he is starving or anything...just look at his pictures!...and he is plenty old enough to go 6-8 hours at night.

Day Four

We moved his bed into the livingroom last night. He only woke up once to eat. Again, we were out and about today, so he ended up sleeping in the stroller, car and my arms. Hard to do this when life is busy, but we continue on!

Day Five

Success is coming!! Last night, we put him to bed at 10pm and he cried about 45 minutes. Ugg. Then Max woke up after just 4 hours in the middle of the night and I decided he needed to skip that feeding. He cried for about 10 minutes until I felt sorry for all our neighbors (the walls aren't that soundproof) and I went in and rubbed his head for about one minute and he fell back asleep. Yeah!! Then he slept all the way until 8am without making another peep!! He slept a bit in my arms during our time with the church and then I put him down for a nap after lunch. He was fussy and tired and got to the point where I could do nothing to console him. He cried about 10 minutes, I went in a rubbed his head and tried to sing a bit, and he fussed louder. Then I left him alone and he cried about 15 more minutes before he dozed off on his own for a nice, long, 2 hour nap. He was then awake a bit over an hour when he fell asleep on his own for a cat nap (about 45 minutes). He is now cooing happily in bed, so I better go get him!

Day Six

Triumphant feelings today! Max slept all night without waking up once! That is 10 hours of continuous sleep for our 5 months old. I feel great myself, having enjoyed a good night's rest. And Max has been pretty happy and content all day. I have laid him down twice so far for naps and he has fussed for a minute or two and fallen right to sleep. I am ecstatic!

Additional Commentaries, by Mommy Lucy

With Canaan, we started using a loose version of the Babywise method to help him sleep though the night. We started this sleep training when he was 2 months old. I really liked the first chapter of the book where it talked about how a child feels most secure when their parents have a solid relationship. It gives examples of how you can be child centered (and how marriages and your life can suffer when kids are placed as priority in the family) or you can raise them to love and respect their place in the home and family. This is what we try to do with Canaan, though we do make many mistakes. Obviously in our home, we try to make God the center of everything (not just first- but the center of everything). Dougle and I’s relationship comes first, and then our relationship with Canaan and now Max.

Ok, I am straying off topic. But the first chapter hooked me and I decided to try what they suggested for getting my baby to sleep through the night. Anyway... for infants, Babywise suggests a routine of feeding, playtime, nap-time and then feeding. With Canaan, we started this at two months of age. He wasn’t sleeping through the night and we had to rock him to sleep and hold him a lot to keep him asleep. As soon as we started letting him put himself to sleep for naps (which involved much crying at first), he started immediately sleeping 6 hours through the night. Two weeks later (he was almost 3 months old), he was sleeping 10 hours a night. Except for having to listen to him cry so much at first, it was relatively easy.

My "Why did you wait so long?" excuses! With Max, we have waited to being this. Several factors played into our wait, including the fact that I wanted to hold him and baby him a bit longer (since he is my second, and last baby). And, he slept fine at night, up to 6 hours at times, and would drop right back to sleep after eating. So we weren’t too sleep deprived. Finally, we also had our month long furlough when we was 4 months old, and I knew that doing anything too close to that date would just get messed up when we were traveling. Then, after we got back, we were sick and then traveling again.

Why Even Do Sleep Training?: Some parent know exactly why I want to do train Max to sleep through the night. Some don't, and that is okay. We are all different. For us, there are several reasons. First, Dougle and I need more sleep than the average individual. I especially need 8 hours a night to be a happy, healthy mom and wife. Secondly, I think if I need long periods of sleep to stay healthy, so does my baby. It just makes sense. And, Max is normally a very happy and content baby, but has been very grumpy and temperamental recently, I think because he doesn't sleep long during the day and then he wakes up twice a night. Lastly, it just seems that if I can teach him a few things at a younger age, then it will make it easier for when he is older. Though he is young, it is amazing how much he understands already and how much he can respond to that understanding. it just needs to be directed understand, instead of letting him slip under the radar because he seems "to little" to understand.

We Love You, Daddy!

2009-07-05T07:04:00.000-07:00

So, to confess, I forgot about Father’s Day. Actually, my husband reminded me of it about 3pm the afternoon of. Poor Daddy! To redeem myself a little, I had bought him a Dad Rules t-shirt while we were in the States. And I even brought a card back to give him on Father’s Day (they don’t have Father’s Day here, just Men’s Day which was back in March). However, it didn’t happen. We went out of town that weekend and it totally slipped my mind! And now I can't find it. Poor Dougle!

But, I have promised to make it up to him soon. I still haven’t yet, but soon.

Here are a few pictures of my hubby being a Daddy. One was actually taken on Father’s Day, which is cool. Canaan and Maximus are INCREDIBLY BLESSED to have such a wonderful Father, a man whom they can look up to and be just like, and I would be so proud! He loves God, he loves them, and he loves and respects me. And the love he shows to them isn’t the “indulgent parent” type of love. In my book, that isn’t even close to true love. He loves them in a way that God loves us. He is committed to them, during the good and rough times of parenting. He cares for them, watches over them, and gives them things (he buys toys for them more than I do!), yet he also disciplines them and expects them to obey and respect him too. He is consistent and firm, yet gentle and kind. What more could any boy want or need?!

So, Happy Late Father’s Day, Dad! We love you!

The True Story about Caterpillars...by Canaan

2009-07-05T06:59:00.000-07:00

Recently,

Canaan, Max and I were hanging out in our courtyard, enjoying some fresh (though hot) air and watching some of the work that is being done. Canaan really likes to watch the digger as it digs dirt, moves pipes, etc. (The city is tearing up our courtyard to do some underground "remodeling" on the pipes.)

Upon seeing this plant (picture), Canaan looked at me and said, “Hey Mommy, what is growing on that plant?”

I thought he would think they were tassels, since my Dad taught him about those when we were in the States and they were working in the garden together. So, becasue he often asks questions he knows the answers to, and to check his memory, I said, “What is growing on that plant, Canaan?”

“Caterpillars!” he responded, excitedly!

And I tagged on two extra photos that aren't caterpillar related. One is Canaan in front on the tractor/digger that is digging up our courtyard. The next is my attempt at self photography while we were all outside together! Max looks like the only one not having fun!